> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Workspace notification defaults

> Set the starting point for everyone's notifications in your workspace, choose reminder defaults, and pick who hears when tasks are completed.

Workspace defaults set what a person gets **before** they choose for themselves.
Open **Settings → Notifications**.

<Info>
  A default is a starting point, **not a lock**. Anyone can change these for
  themselves from their profile. The one exception is the reminder switches – see
  below.
</Info>

## Why defaults exist

A new person joining Northwind Studio should not have to configure ten switches
before they hear about their first assignment. Defaults mean the workspace
decides what "normal" looks like, and individuals adjust from there.

## What is on the page

The page reads *"What everyone gets by default. Changes save as you make them."*
It holds two cards.

### What everyone gets

Marked **Affects everyone**. Described as *"The starting point for every member.
Anyone can change these for themselves from their profile."*

A table with an **In-app** and an **Email** switch for each of seven categories:

| Category                 | What it covers                                          |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Work assigned to you** | Tasks assigned, due soon, overdue, and @mentions        |
| **Approvals**            | Timesheets, time off, and timecard decisions            |
| **Daily reminders**      | The morning, evening and deadline checks                |
| **Money**                | Invoices, payments, and budget thresholds               |
| **Project changes**      | Scope requests and other project-level activity         |
| **Account**              | Invitations, membership and workspace changes           |
| **Security**             | Sign-in and access alerts. Mostly delivered regardless. |

A switch you have never touched shows as **on**, because "no workspace opinion"
falls through to the product default.

### Workspace defaults for reminders

Also marked **Affects everyone**. Described as *"Applies to anyone who has not set
their own times. Everyone gets these times in their own timezone."*

| Control                                            | What it sets                                                                      |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Morning**                                        | On/off and the time for the today check. Standard is 08:00.                       |
| **Evening**                                        | On/off and the time for the tomorrow check. Standard is 17:00.                    |
| **Before the day ends**                            | On/off and how long before each person's working day ends the deadline check runs |
| **Who hears when tasks are completed or reopened** | A list of people told every time anyone marks a task complete                     |

Full detail on the three reminder slots is in [Reminders](/notifications/reminders).

## How to change a default

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open workspace notification settings">
    Go to **Settings → Notifications**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Flip a switch">
    Each cell saves on its own, the moment you click it. There is no save button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the effect">
    Nothing changes for people who already chose for themselves. Everyone else
    follows the new default from the next notification onward.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Changing a default does **not** rewrite anyone's saved settings. If half your team
  has already customised theirs, a default change reaches only the other half.
</Warning>

## Completion watchers

**Who hears when tasks are completed or reopened** is a named list, not a role
query. Pick people with the member picker. The default is **Nobody**.

Anyone on this list is told every time a task is marked complete anywhere in the
workspace, and again if it is reopened – on top of whoever the task was assigned
to.

<Tip>
  A named list is deliberate. A role query silently re-aims itself as people change
  roles. A list only changes when an admin changes it, which is what you want for
  something that emails a human on every completion.
</Tip>

Use it sparingly. On a busy workspace this is the loudest setting on the page.

## Defaults versus reminders – the difference that matters

|                                          | Channel defaults | Reminder switches   |
| ---------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------- |
| What a workspace setting is              | A default        | A floor             |
| If the workspace says on and you say off | You get nothing  | You get nothing     |
| If the workspace says off and you say on | **You get it**   | **You get nothing** |

In plain terms: an admin switching a reminder slot off silences it for everyone,
and no individual can turn it back on. An admin switching a channel default off
just changes the starting point.

The reminder card's own text tells a member which state they are in – a member
whose reminder was killed at workspace level sees *"Switched off for the whole
workspace"* and a disabled switch.

## Example

Maya Ellis is setting up Northwind Studio for 12 people.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Turn the noisy category down">
    **Project changes** – she leaves in-app on and switches email off. Twelve
    people do not each need an email when a project status moves.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Keep approvals loud">
    **Approvals** – both channels on. A stuck timesheet costs the whole week.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Leave security alone">
    **Security** – she leaves it as is. Those emails go out regardless.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set reminder times to match the studio">
    Morning 08:30, evening 17:30, deadline check 2 hours before each person's day
    ends.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name a completion watcher">
    She adds Priya Raman to **Who hears when tasks are completed or reopened**,
    so the Project Manager sees delivery flow without opening every project.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Sarah Lin, who starts at 07:00, later sets her own morning reminder to 07:15.
That beats the workspace 08:30, because a time is most-specific-wins.

## Options and settings

| Setting                      | Effect          | Overridable by a person?      |
| ---------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------- |
| In-app default, per category | Starting point  | Yes                           |
| Email default, per category  | Starting point  | Yes                           |
| Morning reminder on/off      | A floor         | No – off stays off            |
| Morning reminder time        | Starting point  | Yes                           |
| Evening reminder on/off      | A floor         | No                            |
| Evening reminder time        | Starting point  | Yes                           |
| Deadline reminder on/off     | A floor         | No                            |
| Deadline reminder lead time  | Starting point  | Yes                           |
| Completion watchers          | Adds recipients | No – this is a workspace list |

## Permissions

| Action                   | Capability                 | Roles        |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------- | ------------ |
| See the page             | None                       | Everyone     |
| Change any default on it | `workspace.updateSettings` | Owner, Admin |

This is the same capability that guards General settings. A member without it who
lands here sees a card titled **"Looking for your reminders?"** and a **Go to my
profile** button.

Non-admins looking at the completion watcher control see *"Only owners and
admins can change this."*

## What happens next

Each change takes effect on the very next notification. Nothing is queued and
nothing is retroactive – notifications already sent are unaffected.

Each cell is saved on its own, so two admins editing the page at the same time
cannot overwrite each other's work.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Will changing a default silence someone who wants the notification?">
    Only if they have never set that switch themselves. Anyone who has chosen
    keeps their choice. And they can always turn it back on.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I force a category on for everyone?">
    Not from this page. Channel defaults are defaults. If a notification truly must
    reach people, the reminder switches are the only floor available, and they
    only cover the three daily reminders.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do the workspace rows not match my profile rows?">
    The workspace page groups notifications into seven categories. Your own page
    lists ten more specific rows. Both control the same notifications – the
    workspace view is the coarser one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does a new member inherit these defaults?">
    Yes. Someone who joins today and never opens their settings follows every
    default on this page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who should be a completion watcher?">
    Usually nobody, or one delivery lead. Every person you add gets a notification
    for every completed task in the workspace.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does this page control webhooks?">
    No. Webhook endpoints are configured one at a time under
    [Webhooks](/integrations/webhooks).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

**A change did not save.** An error appears: *"Could not change that default."*
Nothing else was altered. Click the switch again.

**People still get emails I switched off.** They set that switch themselves, and
their choice wins. Ask them, or open their member record and change it with them.

**Someone says their reminder will not turn on.** Check the workspace reminder
switch for that slot. A workspace-off reminder cannot be turned on by an
individual, and their screen says so.

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your notification settings" icon="sliders" href="/notifications/your-notification-settings">
    What each person controls for themselves.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reminders" icon="alarm-clock" href="/notifications/reminders">
    The three daily checks in detail.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Notifications overview" icon="bell" href="/notifications/overview">
    How the notification system fits together.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Notification types" icon="list" href="/notifications/notification-types">
    Every notification, its trigger, and its recipients.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Roles and capabilities" icon="shield" href="/concepts/roles-and-capabilities">
    Who holds `workspace.updateSettings`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Apps and modules" icon="toggle-on" href="/concepts/apps-and-modules">
    Turning an app off removes its notifications entirely.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>